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Thursday, July 5, 2012

2012 FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT DEBATE: TONY ROMO VS. ELI MANNING

Last season I told you all that I would once again follow my policy of not drafting a QB until at least round 4 as I wanted to load up on getting one running back, two receivers, and one tight end before I looked under center. My theory was that in a ten team format in which most leagues are held, there were more than enough good options to go around for me to wait on the position. Sure everyone would love to have Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers but I felt it was much more important to grab one of the few workhorse running backs and stud receivers in the first three rounds and than come back to the guys who throw the ball. Well that plan worked out as well as can be as I drafted Tony Romo in round 5 and than figuring I needed a good backup in case he got hurt again, snagged Eli Manning in round 10!!!!! How did that turn out? Well both Manning and Romo threw for at least 29 TD's and both were right near the top in fantasy football points. I was able to deal Manning for Jason Witten during the season and rode my team to the title game where I lost a tight one. So with that in mind, I thought it would be a great idea to compare Romo and Manning as both guys are neck-and-neck when it comes to rankings this season. In our latest Draft Debate, we compare the two in all the relevant fantasy football stats in order to figure out who in fact should be picked ahead of the other.

INTANGIBLES: This comes down to durability and in that case, Manning is the clear winner. You always want to create a fantasy football roster as durable as possible so that your are not looking for replacement players along the way due to injuries. Manning has never missed a game in his entire career while Romo has missed 13 games since 2008-09. When it comes to dependability, Rome comes up way short.ADVANTAGE: Eli Manning

PASSING YARDS: Manning won this battle last season 4,933 to Romo's 4,184. Obviously both guys love to air out and reflexively you think Manning is the easy winner here. Not so fast. Manning was forced to throw the ball an incredible amount of times due to the fact the traditionally run-heavy Giants were last in the league in rushing yardage. That's almost unheard of for a team that runs first and asks questions later. With Ahmad Bradshaw healthy and hotshot rookie David Wilson, that shouldn't be as much of a problem this season and so Manning will no doubt throw the ball a lot less. The Cowboys meanwhile have always emphasized throwing the football and Romo has a ton of targets in Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, and Miles Austin. This one is too close to call.ADVANTAGE: EVEN

TOUCHDOWNS: Since the 2007-08 season (not counting 2010-11 when Romo missed ten games with injury), Romo has thrown more TD's than Manning in three of the four seasons. Romo altogether has thrown 119 touchdowns to Manning's 100. Again Dallas is more apt to be throwing the football more than the Giants and Romo's is certainly the better bet to throw for 30 scores as opposed to Manning who didn't even get there (29) last season when he had to throw more than ever.ADVANTAGE: Tony Romo

INTERCEPTIONS: Romo and Manning both have a tendency to turn the ball over but Manning is much worse in this department in throwing 60 picks to Romo's 52 in using the same formula in comparing the two the last five seasons minus 2010-11 when Romo was out. However during that season Manning threw a horrendous 25 interceptions which is as bad as it gets in that department so Romo is the much safer investment there.ADVANTAGE: Tony Romo

WINNER: Tony Romo

Once again this was very close but Romo is the slightly better pick when it comes to drafts. He stayed on the field for all 16 games last season which at least lessens the risk when it comes to injuries and the Cowboys offense is more predicated on passing than is the Giants. Plus when it comes to the fantasy football playoff weeks, the weather in NY is always a risk where wind and snow could impact things, whereas Romo will be playing in a controlled environment dome.